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More Intrigue Coming to Battle of the Beltways

Nationals Principal Owner Mark D. Lerner will be blogging throughout the 2010 MLB Winter Meetings, giving Nats fans a unique perspective of the goings-on in Orlando. Check back often for the latest updates.

Good evening. It was another beautiful day in Orlando. Today is the official first day of MLB’s Winter Meetings, although we certainly got the ball rolling yesterday with the signing of Jayson Werth.

There is a definite buzz around the Dolphin Hotel, the MLB headquarters for the Winter Meetings. This time of day, the lobby is crawling with media, and each of the 30 teams are huddled, evaluating their clubs and how they can improve them.

Mike Rizzo and the baseball staff have been meeting all day, discussing free-agent players and trade options. In all, we have more than 30 of our top baseball operations staffers. Over the course of the next few days, Mike will meet with several other clubs, as well as agents, to get a better feel for which players on our radar are attainable.

A few quick notes:

* The Nationals would like to congratulate longtime baseball executive Pat Gillick on his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Pat is a brilliant baseball man and a true ambassador for the game.

* It was nice to see the Orioles signing of Mark Reynolds. I’m sure Ryan Zimmerman will welcome having his college teammate right up the road, and Virginia Cavalier fans will now have 2 of their most notable baseball alums in the region. Should add another level of intrigue for our annual Battle of the Beltways series.

* Beautiful television production sets for MLB Network and ESPN around the lobby. This event really gets a ton of coverage. At glance, you can see Harold Reynolds, Peter Gammons and many others.

That’s all for now. Keep checking back, and I’ll do my best to keep everybody updated on the happenings from Disney World.

VTKOB… Some of us are happy that he is taking the time to interact with the fans (no one is perfect – even when it comes to deciphering transactions involving millions of dollars). After a long day of meetings, someone taking 30 minutes out of their day to summarize organizational thoughts instead of relaxing to drinks, sleeping, or chatting up family should be well received.

Curious to see how things work out for the Reynolds family (they are good people from my interaction with them and some associates of his). They just recently settled down in Arizona, and now they are having to uproot and leave. Hoping he has a career year with the Orioles (except when they play us).

Thanks for the blogging Mark… Thanks for keeping the Nationals relevant!

To the other commenters, I don’t have a chip on my shoulder & I truly appreciate the time Mr Lerner is taking to keep the fans informed of happenings throughout the Winter Meetings; however, seeing updates on other teams by our owner, I would prefer to see them to be as accurate as possible.
Yes, the trade had to be approved (and in essence signed) but the O’s did not sign Reynolds, the DBacks did. They traded the contract that the DBacks signed previously.
Mr. Lerner, I do really appreciate the updates; however, the franchise to our North was run into the ground by the owner that should remain nameless. I also appreciate moving forward with the Phase II part of the plan. I hear rumblings about the Nats not being out of the Cliff Lee sweepstakes. Hopefully, we’ll hear some good news on this front shortly; but all in all, keep up the good work & I’d also like to see you blog throughout the offseason through spring training and the season. A post a week or every other week, would be great to hear your feedback on the operations.
Thanks again

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